


Smile

by YoMo715



Series: Dororo (2019) One-shots [2]
Category: Dororo (Anime)
Genre: Expressions, dororo and hyakkimaru are my new anime brotp, idk - Freeform, just pure fluff, post ep 6 but.... not really spoilers?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-17
Updated: 2019-02-17
Packaged: 2019-10-30 03:45:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17821244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YoMo715/pseuds/YoMo715
Summary: What are expressions to one who's never used them?





	Smile

“Happy.” 

Hyakkimaru tries his best not to wince. 

“Sad.” 

Dororo pinches his sore cheeks again, pulling the corners of his mouth downward. This action is what Hyakkimaru wanted, as per request, but he should have known better. Dororo’s probably teasing him now, pulling his cheeks outward again. This time, he also uses his pointer fingers to crinkle his upper brow. 

“Angry,” he describes. 

Hyakkimaru is undoubtedly confused. It feels nearly the same as ‘Happy,’ other than the fold of the brow line. 

“Ah, you’re ahead of me,” scoffs Dororo. “That’s…..” 

Hyakkimaru squints again. “What.” the whisper whistles up his throat, sounding more like a hiss. This is the most he can manage without flinching. Even the simple hum disturbs him, the buzz of sound scratching at his throat, stinging the innermost workings of his ears. 

When Dororo doesn’t answer, he tries again. “What.” he taps his pointer finger to Dororo’s mouth. 

“The word?”

Hyakkimaru nods once. He listens Dororo say it again, thankful that this time he speaks each syllable in a slow rhythm to help him recognize the beat. 

“ _ Confusion.” _

Hyakkimaru allows the sound to sink into the pond of his mind, to wrap each syllable around the kanji that defines it until he finally understands that his current expression means _confusion: a state of bewilderment or uncertainty_. 

So that’s what that looks like. Or, at least, what he feels it looks like. He contracts the muscles, allowing them to twitch into shape as the line of his lips purse and the brow arches downward. 

“Confusion,” he echoes, slow. 

The white flicker of Dororo’s soul hiccups ever so slightly. “Close, but no,” he chides, but he twitches again when Hyakkimaru’s brow rises by the fraction of a hair, “Ah, that’s better!” 

Hyakkimaru blinks, then allows the tiniest whoosh of air huff out of his lungs as his brow furrows further. 

“Now you look frustrated,” Dororo explains.

“Hard.” Hyakkimaru protests. He feels the muscles of his mouth naturally contract into a frown, and again he’s baffled. It’s so strange how some of these so-called ‘expressions’ come so naturally, like they’re something that’s been ingrained into him since the beginning of time and yet... Yet, he’s never seen this so-called ‘confusion.’ He doesn’t know why the lips curve upwards into a ‘smile’ when he feels ‘happy’, why they curl into a ‘frown’ for ‘sadness’ or ‘anger.’ 

But he wants to know. 

“Oh, ……., it can’t be  _ that _ hard,” Dororo cuts off Hyakkimaru’s string of thoughts with the wave of his hand. “I…,.... you can see things you’ll…. of it.”

Hyakkimaru feels that frown form again. Still so much he doesn’t know, but so much more he wants to learn. 

“Don’t….me that look,” Dororo stands to his feet, patting the dirt off of his hands. “....time!” Hyakkimaru flinches back as the little white soul whips his hand in front of his face, finger stopping so close that it’s nearly smacked straight into his prosthetic nose. “Show me a….!”

Hyakkimaru just furrows his brow again. 

“Wrong!” Dororo cuts him off before he can process the last word he’d spoken. 

He sometimes forgets that his companion, despite his maturity, is still just an eight-year-old child. He holds in the tight ball of frustration knotting up his gut, instead raising his hand to cover Dororo’s mouth before the boy can chide him further. 

The soul is shocked still for the whole of five seconds, until he realizes he can simply slap the hand away. “What?” he huffs, sounding annoyed. 

“Word,” Hyakkimaru hums, allowing the air to expel and his ears to ring to the tune of his voice. He, again, taps Dororo’s lip for emphasis. “Expression.” 

“Huh?” Dororo’s soul flickers again, white flames burning bright as his head tilts to one side. “Which word?”

“Expression.” Hyakkimaru echoes once again. 

“Oh,” Dororo gasps when the realization finally hits.  _ “ _ That expression is  _ Smile.” _

A quiet befalls them, and for a moment Hyakkimaru can hear the little pitter-patter of raindrops on the roof of the shrine. “Smile,” he whispers. “Happy.” 

“Yeah, happy,” Dororo confirms. “Show me a smile, bro!” 

Hyakkimaru sees now that he’s being tested, and something in his chest begins to stir. Jukai’s last test was focused on plant life. 

This test, however, is much harder than any of Jukai’s. Regardless, he gives it his best shot. He thinks back to a moment ago, when Dororo had pinched his cheeks to form that strange upward curl of his mouth, and begins to imitate the same feeling (save for the soreness). 

“Smile?” He proposes. 

It isn’t answered immediately. Not with words, at least. First, he spots Dororo’s soul fluttering. Light sputters in bright flits of white, and It’s accompanied by delightful little chirps and muted tuts. “Oh, no, Hyakkimaru,” Dororo manages to sprinkle between the laughter. “So scary!” 

Hyakkimaru thinks he should be offended, but the snickers stir up that warm, tender feeling in his gut, and he feels himself relax. The contracted facial muscles loosen just a little, loose enough for his cheeks to stop hurting, but tight enough so he can hold that warm glow close. He wraps himself around that feeling, hoping it will never go away. 

Dororo’s laughter has quelled significantly. “Yeah, that’s right,” he speaks softly. 

Hyakkimaru wonders if sound can have a smile, too. 

“What?” Dororo asks when the silence stretches on for too long. “You’re still smiling, you know.” 

Hyakkimaru blinks. He hadn’t realized the expression could stick, but it doesn’t matter. “Dororo smile.”

He hears Dororo stutter and watches his soul flicker, and he can feel his smile growing. “Wh-what?” Dororo chokes. “You have no….! You can’t even see, yet!” 

Hyakkimaru’s ignores Dororo’s smack to his shoulder. His cheeks begin to hurt again, smile stretching wide. “Yes.” 

“I am not!”

“Yes.”

“Stupid!” 

Hyakkimaru hums. He turns to face the little white soul who’s stuck with him this whole time, the one who’s stayed even through the despair and pain, through the learning curves and setbacks. Even now, he knows that Dororo, in his own childish way, is teaching him something. 

He lifts his pointer finger again, this time poking at Dororo’s nose. Before the soul gets the chance to swat it away, he breathes, “Dororo is happy.” 

Dororo doesn’t move. 

Hyakkimaru realizes his smile has fallen again. It’s more gentle than before, he can tell even though he cannot see it. He takes the time to hover his prosthetic over that glowing spot on his chest, where the imaginary warmth seeps into the hand he cannot feel. He holds it close and whispers, “I happy, too.” 

The rain helps to cover up the silence between the two. It taps without care, happily strumming a melody of its own making. 

“Don’t say weird things,” Dororo spouts, finally recoiling from Hyakkimaru and scoffing loudly. He doesn’t stray far, though, stamping his feet beside him and taking a seat, planting his bottom down onto the floor with a loud thud. 

Hyakkimaru is still smiling, despite. It’s near-non-existent now, but his lips still shift just slightly upward. 

“I’m….., though.” Dororo mutters, so low Hyakkimaru almost misses it. 

“Hm?”

“It’s nice to see you happy.” 

Hyakkimaru says nothing. He just allows himself to hold onto that radiant warmth, to clutch at the burning in his chest and think that, if this feeling is the final reward for the battles and the bloodshed, he'd be willing to fight demons until he draws his last breath. 

**Author's Note:**

> Oh my god, I wrote something that didn't go south real fast? DANG  
> GO ME 
> 
> Thanks so much for reading!  
> Feedback is always appreciated!


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